


The Badger and The Snake

by Ramadiii



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Follows the books and movies fairly well I think, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Timelines might be a little iffy, school years
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-04 08:49:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4131510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ramadiii/pseuds/Ramadiii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alessa Marky was looking forward to her years at Hogwarts. Making friends, learning, maybe even falling in love. Little did she know there was a war coming and one of her best friends might just be dragged into it against his will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mika/gifts), [nico](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nico/gifts).



> Hi guys! This is my first HP-fanfic so I'm a little nervous but I still hope you like it!  
> HUGE thanks to my muses and betas Mika and Nico who I keep putting through my endless rants ;)  
> Please enjoy!

“Good morning, darling!” Mrs. Marky called as a wisp of blonde hair came rushing down the stairs early that morning.  
“Morning, has my letter come?!” The wisp of hair spoke quickly as she looked up at her mother with wide blue eyes.  
“Not yet, Lessa.” Mr. Marky spoke gently as he reached for a piece of bacon still in the pan on the stove only to get poked in his side by his wife and her spatula. “The post hasn't arrived yet.”  
The pair both smiled at the pout about to form on their daughter's lips. “Why don't you have some breakfast? I'm sure your letter will arrive any day now.” Mr. Marky continued before kissing his wife's cheek and helped her set the table, occasionally throwing an eye out the window to see Mimsy, the house elf, happily cleaning the flowerbeds.

Christopher Marky was a very kind man whom you'd believe had never experienced any stress in his life what so ever. He had dark blonde hair and brown eyes, worked as an editor at the Daily Prophet and had an uncanny ability to stabilize his wife's quick temper.  
Tindra Marky was his polar opposite. A tall, brunette with blue green eyes and the temper of an offended hippogriff. She worked at the Ministry of Magic as an auror even though she didn't always do too well under pressure.

“When did you get home, dad?” The little blonde girl suddenly asked, as if just realising her father was there.  
“About an hour ago.” Mr. Marky said and stretched before sitting down at the dinner table. “It was a late night at the office again. Thank you, dear.” He smiled at his wife who was shovelling bacon and scrambled eggs onto his plate, seemingly stressed about being late for work even though she still had plenty of time.  
“Could you pass me the salt, please?” The girl asked her father when all of a sudden she heard a distant hoot making her drop the salt cellar in the middle of her eggs.  
“Is it here?! Is it here?!” She jumped off her chair to run to her mother who got a stack of letters from their brown barn owl currently sitting on the windowsill.  
“Calm down, Lessa.” Mr. Marky chuckled as he watched her jump up and down beside her mother. “Remember what I've told you.”  
“Things won't come faster even if you rush, I know.” The girl settled with a small smile on her face. If she wasn't mistaken she thought she saw the coat of arms of Hogwarts on the letter at the bottom of the pile but she did what she was told and waited patiently for her mother to reach the end of the pile.  
“Oh, would you look at that.” Mrs. Marky grinned as she finally reached the last letter. “To Ms. A. Marky, Walnuts Farm, Mayfield, East Sussex. Here you are, sweetheart.” And she reached Alessa her letter.

“Mum, we have to go shopping.” Alessa determinedly said after reading through the letter a couple of times.  
Mrs. Marky hurriedly looked up from her eggs, throwing an apologetic look at her daughter.  
“I'm sorry, darling. I'm already late for work.”  
“No, you're not.” Mr. Marky remarked bringing his cup of tea to his lips with his usual calm smile that always annoyed his wife beyond belief.  
He got a sneer in return and turned to his daughter with a laugh.  
“How about you and I go to London today, angel?”  
“Don't you have to work?”  
“Not until tomorrow, so what do you say?”  
“Can we fly?” Those blue eyes widened considerably.  
“No, it's too windy outside. Besides with little over an hours flight to London, it's too much for you.”  
“I'm a good flier, you've said so yourself. Besides I'm almost 12.” The girl looked about ready to stomp her foot at the unfairness of her situation but her father just smiled and reached out to pet her hair.  
“Yes, I did and you are. But the weather conditions are not right and it would be risky for you to fly.” He pulled her closer and looked at her like only he could, with equal parts gentleness and sternness. “The first lesson you have to learn when it comes to flying is that the elements can either help you or they can hinder you. You're very light and a strong wind could easily knock you off your broom and I'm not ready to take that risk. Do you understand what I'm saying?”  
Alessa looked down at her feet, slightly ashamed of her reaction to his concern.  
“Alessa?”  
“Yes, I understand.” She mumbled before looking up at her father again. “So apparation?”  
“Yes, apparation it is.”  
“I'm sorry, dears but I have to get going now.” Mrs. Marky hurriedly rose from her seat, kissing her husband's cheek and hugging her daughter, kissing her blonde head before spinning around to see that she hadn't forgotten anything. “Have fun in London, I love you.”  
And with a loud pop she had disapparated.  
Mr. Marky smirked to himself as he stood up and counted backwards from 10 as he walked up to the counter to grab the strap of the purse sitting there.  
Then he just stood there in the middle of the kitchen, the purse hanging from his outstretched hand as he continued counting.  
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1...”  
Pop!  
Mrs. Marky appeared again and sticking her tongue out she grabbed her purse from her husband's hand before disappearing back to work.  
“She always forgets something, doesn't she?” Alessa remarked with a giggle making her father nod.  
“Oh yes, she's a bit of a scatter brain for sure. Now go upstairs and get dressed. We have school supplies that need to be bought.”  
“All right!” She called as she ran up the stairs and into her room, she had never gotten dressed so quickly before in her life.

“So, where to?” Mr. Marky looked down at the list in his daughter's hands as they exited Gringotts, having taken out enough money for all her things.  
“Well, it says uniform first so why don't we go there?” Alessa showed him the list, her father nodding in agreement.  
“To Madame Malkin's then.” He winked before grabbing hold of her and hoisted the laughing child up on his shoulders.  
“Let me guess, Hogwarts?” The squat, smiling witch asked when the pair entered their shop, Mr. Marky setting Alessa down as he bowed his head in greeting.  
“Yes, Madam Malkin.” The girl answered politely as she stepped up, away from her father without reservation. Mr. Marky's heart swelled with pride at his daughter's exemplary poise.  
“Well, come with me, dear and we'll get your robes set up.”  
Mr. Marky sat down in a chair as Alessa followed the witch to the back of the shop where she was placed on a footstool, Madam Malkin pulling a robe over her head and with expert fingers began to pin it to its right length.  
Once done and paid for at Madam Malkin's the next stop was Ollivanders to buy Alessa her wand. About 20 minutes later she was the proud owner of a 13 inch wand made of elm wood with a core of unicorn hair. It was lightly coloured with plain carvings and was, according to Mr. Ollivander, fairly pliable.  
The weight of the box containing her very own wand in her hand made a big grin spread across the blonde girl's face as she all but skipped out of the shop.  
“I have my own wand, dad!” She giggled up at her father who chuckled at her antics.  
“Yes, you do, Lessa. But remember...” He said seriously bringing her skipping to a stop. “You're not allowed to do magic outside of school until you're 17. That is very important to remember.”  
“Yeah.” Alessa nodded as they continued walking. She already knew that but was aware of how important it was so she didn't mind being told again.

Next was Flourish and Blotts to buy her books and after that they picked up a cauldron, one set of glass phials, one telescope and a set of brass scales.  
Looking at all the different cauldrons, scales and equipment around the shop Alessa had begun to feel truly excited about potion's class.  
“Um... Dad?” Alessa mumbled, a little unsure how to ask what she wanted to ask.  
“Yes, angel?” Mr. Marky stopped and turned slightly to look at the little girl. “What is it?”  
“Well... The letter says I can bring an animal if I'd like...”  
She looked up to meet his eye and blushed.  
She didn't know why but asking him for this made her feel awkward and spoiled, and it was not something she was used to feeling.  
“Where do you think we're going?” Mr. Marky winked with a grin as he started walking again, leaving Alessa in a stupor and it took a few seconds before she managed to move her body again.

Magical Menagerie, that's what it said on the sign above the shop they entered.  
Cages of owls and cats, and terrariums of toads and snakes were everywhere and Mr. Marky grinned at his daughter's widened eyes. He still remembered the first time he had gone into this shop to buy a pet.  
“So what do you want, a cat?” He pointed at a Siamese cat in a cage on a shelf staring at them with its big blue eyes. “A toad?” He chuckled at the barely noticeable shake of the girl's head, he was pretty sure she didn't even know she'd done it. “Or do you want...” He walked her over to the part of the shop which held mostly cages of birds. “An owl?”  
“I think... I want an owl.” Alessa said after a few moments of deliberation.  
“All right. Now all you have to decide is which owl.”  
Alessa left her father's side to look at the owls. She looked at every single one of them, her blue eyes searching for personalities and traits she found desirable.  
In the end she decided on a red elegant-looking screech owl with big ear tufts.  
By the time she got home she had already named him.


	2. Chapter 2

The first couple of weeks at Hogwarts were some of the most amazing Alessa had ever experienced.  
She, like her father, had been proud to be sorted into Hufflepuff and by the end of the second week she had found a close friend in fellow Hufflepuff Hannah Abbott whom she spent most of her time with.  
Fairly quickly she found she was a natural in Charms class, Potions was even more fun than she had imagined and she thoroughly enjoyed herself in Herbology.  
Her first flying-lesson with Madam Hooch had been a success and she'd managed to score five points for Hufflepuff for her technique and Hannah Abbott had happily congratulated her afterwards.  
“I'm just glad I didn't end up like Neville Longbottom, I feel so sorry for him.” Hannah said as they were making their way to the common room.  
“Why? What happened?” Alessa asked concerned.  
Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had Herbology together and when they on the first lesson had been asked to split into pairs and the boy had looked defeated because everybody else seemed to have already paired up. So Alessa had simply walked over to him, introduced herself and asked if he wanted to work with her. He had almost looked close to tears and had been very tense and shy in the beginning but had eventually lightened up when he realised he wasn't a complete failure when it came to plants, his words not hers.  
“According to Parvati Patil something went wrong during their flying-lesson and Neville fell off his broom.”  
“Is he all right?”  
“She said he broke his arm but she hadn't heard anything else since.”  
“How could I not have heard about this?” Alessa stopped at the barrel entrance to the Hufflepuff common room.  
“It only happened this morning and I know you don't really listen to gossip so it's not that surprising.” Hannah explained before tapping the second barrel from the bottom. “Are you coming or?”  
“No, you go ahead. I'll head up to the hospital wing and see how he is.”  
“All right, tell him to feel better, yeah?”  
“I will.”

“Hi, Alessa. Are you looking for someone?”  
The blonde smiled as she walked up to the boy.  
“Yeah, you.” He looked shocked by this admission. “I heard about your arm, are you all right?”  
“Oh... Yeah, yeah, it's all good now.” He waved his arm with a blush, albeit a little stiffly making Alessa believe it was still tender.  
“Well, that's good. Hannah sends her regards by the well.” Neville's face turned an even deeper shade of red.  
“So what's your next class?” She asked as they started walking away from the hospital wing.  
“Potions with the Slytherins.” He said quietly and shuddered.  
“You don't like Potions class?” She raised an eyebrow. She found it quite enjoyable herself, not to mention that she found professor Snape interesting. Stern but interesting.  
“I don't think I mind Potions, I think Potions mind me.” He mumbled and she noticed his face had gone slightly pale.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Professor Snape...” He whispered after looking over his shoulder as if fearing said professor would appear out of thin air behind him. “He frightens me.”  
“Really?” Her head cocked slightly to the left in surprise. “I guess I can see why but I mostly just find him interesting.”  
“'Interesting'? He's downright nasty, the stuff of nightmares.”  
Alessa noticed the boy was actually shaking so she decided to bring an end to the subject.  
“I'm sure you'll do great. You're grouped with Hermione Granger, right?” He nodded. “Then maybe she can help you. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something.”  
They were almost at the corridor heading down to the dungeons now.  
“What's that?” He asked making Alessa smile at him.  
“Do you want to go with me and Hannah to the library later? We're going to study and I thought you might like to join us.”  
He seemed surprised that she, or anyone, would ask him if he wanted to study with them and he was tripping over his words when he finally answered.  
“Um... I... Sure, I'd... I'd like that.”  
“Great, we'll be there all afternoon so you just drop by when your classes are over.” She backed away with a wave. “Good luck!”  
“Thanks!” He waved back before following the Gryffindors down to the dungeons.

Their study sessions became a regular thing. Every Monday and Thursday Alessa, Hannah and Neville gathered in the library to study and little by little as Neville's self esteem grew so did their friendship.  
Every so often Neville would be seen sitting at the Hufflepuff table, chatting with the two girls and once in a while the two Hufflepuffs ate lunch with the Gryffindors.

In her second month Alessa had come across the Gryffindor Golden Child but even though she was curious about him she never approached him more than introducing herself and a brief chat every now and then.  
She knew that if she had been in the same situation she wouldn't have liked to be gawked at and followed by nosy people so she let him be mostly and after a few months she just saw him as Harry, not as The Boy Who Lived.  
In general she kept out of people's way, didn't bother listening to gossip and apart from the close friendships she's made she didn't spend much time trying to seek out attention.  
She liked being part of the background, it made for a better vantage point of people and their little quirks. She could sit in a group of students for hours without saying a word and then suddenly she would jump into the conversation with a comment or a sharp observation as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  
This made her appear strange in some people's eyes but she didn't mind. She liked biding her time before opening up, kept to herself until she knew what sort of crowd or people she was dealing with. In short; she enjoyed people-watching.  
Some people she found downright plain, really nothing much to dig out or observe deeply, what you saw was what you got.  
Others though she found immensely interesting, people with real quirks, habits, personalities and secrets that she could observe with interest.  
Her ability to blend into a crowd afforded her the opportunity to do all this, usually without getting noticed. Those few who did however called her a freak and kept their distance from her.

“How do you suppose a troll got into the castle?” Alessa asked a Slytherin-girl walking briskly next to her as they were ushered from the Great Hall to their common rooms.  
“I don’t know, I thought security was top-notch here.” The girl answered looking thoroughly frightened. “I just hope it’s not in the dungeons any more.” She looked pale at the thought of walking through the dungeons with a troll on the loose.  
“I’m sure everything will be all right, Professor Snape won’t let anything happen to you.” Alessa said comforting in spite of how nervous she was. Snape might be a very stern professor but he wouldn’t stand by letting his House get hurt.  
“Well, wish us luck.” The girl said somewhat cheekily although terrified as the two Houses split up.  
“Good luck.” Alessa called before the girl had disappeared, a frightened white-blonde boy rushing by her to follow his classmate, barely even throwing a look the Hufflepuffs way before he too disappeared out of her sight.   
“Keep up, Marky.” Alessa looked up to see Cedric Diggory smiling down at her, a hand on her shoulder to usher her to their common room. “Don't want to lose you out here.”  
“I didn't know you knew my name.” She simply said as Cedric made sure to close the barrel-door securely behind them.  
The boy looked at her with that lopsided smile of his and despite the danger they were all in with a troll loose in the castle she found herself smiling back at him.  
“The way you keep staring at people it's kind of hard not to notice you.” He said as they entered the crowded common room.  
“Well, you're one of the few who does.” Alessa smiled before she walked over to one of the many yellow and black armchairs, sitting down on the armrest of the one Hannah sat in.  
Her friend looked at her like she wanted to ask her what that was about but when Cedric settled not too far from them Hannah forced herself to stay quiet about it, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the handsome older boy.  
The common room was crowded but warm and comfortable. Some house elves Alessa recognised from her trips to the kitchens had appeared with mugs of hot chocolate for everyone while they waited for news that the troll had been apprehended and under the circumstances it was a fairly nice way to spend Halloween. Little less than an hour later Professor Sprout came through the tunnel to tell them the good news. By morning word had spread that three Gryffindor first years had been the ones to knock the troll out, Alessa didn't need to listen to the rumours to know which three it was.

Sooner than anyone could have guessed Christmas came and Alessa spent it at home with her family. She always knew she'd miss them when she started school but she never could have guessed just how much until she was on the Hogwarts Express back to snowy London. She'd been in regular contact with her parents during the fall and yet she had so much to tell them, it felt like all she did when she was back home for the holidays was either going on about school or starting to work on an assignment for History of Magic. It was due about two weeks after the end of the holidays but Alessa had started on it early, hoping to finish it soon and maybe awarding her a bit more time for Defence Against the Dark Arts. It appeared the subject was not her best and she would be thrilled to even get a passing grade at the end of the school year.  
The night of the annual Christmas party at the Ministry of Magic Alessa found herself alone in the old Walnut Farm as under age children of employees were not allowed to accompany their parents. Mr and Mrs. Marky had offered to have someone come be with her for the night but Alessa had declined, saying that being alone for the night might just do help her study. Mrs. Marky had not wanted to leave her as she felt she was still too young but Mr Marky had, as usual, managed to calm his wife down enough to remind her that their daughter was a calm and bright child who would not be getting into trouble simply by being home alone. Never the less he cast some fire-protection spells and locked the house up safely before they departed.  
And so Alessa had found herself cooped up in an armchair in front of the fireplace, reading about Ulric the Oddball while occasionally feeding her owl, Galahad, special Christmas treats from Eeylops.

The rest of the school year passed quietly for Alessa once she got back after the holidays. Proudly she managed to pass all her exams, her highest scores were in Charms, she got the fourth highest scores in Herbology among Hufflepuff's first years, fairly decent marks in Potions and a passing grade in Defence Against the Dark Arts.  
She had early on taking a liking to Charms class and according to Professor Flitwick she appeared to be somewhat of a natural. Defence Against the Dark Arts however was not her thing. It wasn't that she found it uninteresting, if anything it was probably one of the most useful classes she had but it just didn't come naturally for her unlike Charms or Herbology, but anything above failing the class was good enough to make her smile so she was still proud of herself.  
The Defence Against the Dark Arts-classes had come an abrupt stop when Professor Quirrel had proven to be in cohorts with You -Know-Who and Harry Potter, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, had managed to stop him, resulting in a vacant Defence Against the Dark Arts-teacher position.  
At the end of the year-feast Alessa, along with her housemates, had applauded and cheered for Slytherin who had for the seventh year in a row won the House Cup. Then as Dumbledore started handing out points to Harry, Ron and Hermione, it was from this moment on that Alessa decided to refer to them as the Golden Trio, for stopping You-Know-Who. He even awarded Neville points for standing up to his friends when they were about to break school rules, which she strongly approved of. The boy deserved to feel proud of something.  
But she couldn't help but feel it was unfair to Slytherin who, as far as she knew, had earned their points in class and by following the school rules. She didn't place much weight on who won, didn't really care to be honest, but she felt that Dumbledore was playing favourites which in the end caused Slytherin the House Cup and she didn't seem to be alone in thinking this. The Slytherin-table looked absolutely crushed and Professor Snape seemed like he shared Alessa's thoughts about the Headmaster playing favourites. He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

“Promise me you'll write, both of you.” Alessa said as she hugged Neville and Hannah goodbye for the summer before they were about to split up at King's Cross.  
“Of course.” Hannah laughed, turning her head to see her parents waving happily at her.  
“I promise.” Neville said, a firm hold on Trevor so he wouldn't lose him again in the crowd. “You girls have a good summer, yeah?”  
“You too, Neville!” Bother the girls laughed before the three parted ways to go home with their respective families.


	3. Chapter 3

Alessa looked at the letter in her hands, reading it through again even though she knew it by heart already.

_“Dear Alessa,_  
_I’m looking forward to go shopping in Diagon Alley with you. My grandmother has allowed me to go with you on the 13th of July but only if there is at least one adult present, otherwise she is going to come with us and I think it might be better if someone else comes along for the sake of all of us._  
_I’ve already written a letter to Hannah and she agreed to meet outside Flourish & Blotts at 10 o’clock with her mother, are you able to meet there too?_  
_I hope you’re well._

_Sincerely Neville”_

She’d talked to her parents and they had written to and agreed with Mrs Abbott that she could look after the children for the day, after all both Mr and Mrs. Marky had to work on the 13th of July so it was a bit of a relief for them.  
Mrs. Marky had kindly asked Mimsy, their house elf, if she would mind taking Alessa to Diagon Alley or if she was busy.  
Mimsy, who had been freed at a young age by Alessa's grandmother and had spent a good time of her lifetime aiding the matriarch in her mischief, had not been busy and was more than happy to help the girl to where she needed to be and two minutes to ten Alessa found herself standing outside Flourish & Blotts with her supply list tucked safely into the pocket of her cloak.  
“Alessa!” Neville’s voice made her turn around and she was pleased he was on time, something usually happened to him which caused him to be late but not today apparently.  
“Neville, it’s so good to see you!” She smiled and gave him a hug that made him blush like always. “How are you?”  
“I’m all right, this morning was a little stressful but at least I’m on time.” He replied, looking around for the second girl. “Aren't Hannah and Mrs. Abbott here yet?”  
“I haven’t seen them.” Alessa shrugged before looking around as well.  
About five minutes after ten they found each other, both Neville and Alessa greeted Mrs. Abbott politely as it was their first time properly meeting.  
“There’s no need to be so polite, dearies.” The woman had chuckled after shaking their hands. “It’s really nice to meet you; Hannah has told me so much about the both of you. So does everyone have their supply lists?”  
Alessa nodded, patting her pocket but Neville went pale next to her.  
“I… I think I forgot it…” He stammered, looking like he was about to burst into tears.  
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Abbott patted his shoulder to try and cheer him up. “But you’re all in the same year, no?”  
Neville nodded, a tear threatening to fall down his face.  
“Yes, so why don’t you just look at ours, Neville?” Hannah suggested with a smile and Alessa noted it looked a lot like her mother’s.  
“Yeah, so turn that frown upside down. We’ve got shopping to do.” Alessa winked at him and he actually managed to smile thankfully at them.  
“Thank you.” He mumbled wiping his eyes, embarrassed about breaking down over a forgotten list, as they entered Flourish & Blotts.  
The Hogwarts letters had arrived a couple of weeks ago and so thankfully there weren’t too much people in the book store. Walking in Alessa saw a poster with the words Gilderoy Lockhart Book signing, 1st of July and she could hear Mrs. Abbott mutter to herself about how a pinhead like him couldn’t possibly have done all those things but Alessa didn’t think too much of it. The few pictures she’d seen of him hadn’t left her with a good impression; he had the kind of smile that just rubbed her the wrong way. Covertly slimy, if she had to put it into words.  
After a while the group exited the book store with grade 2 of The Standard Book of Spells and no less than seven of Gilderoy Lockhart’s books, it would appear whoever was the new Defence Against the Dark Arts-teacher was quite a big fan of his. It didn’t say they were for Defence-class but what other class could it be with titles like Gaddling with Ghouls, Travels with Trolls and Wanderings with Werewolves?  
Their shopping for school was actually finished after a short trip to Amanuensis Quills but never the less they spent the rest of the day in Diagon Alley. Mrs. Abbott brought them to the apothecary to stock up on dragon liver for brewing doxycide, a foul smelling solution she used to spray doxies with, paralysing them for a period of time which would allow Mrs. Abbott to safely remove them without being bitten. They ate ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, stopped by Rosa Lee Teabag to pick up some tea and it was with a smile Mrs. Abbott allowed them into Quality Quidditch Supplies to gawk at some of the latest equipment.

Going back to school was a welcomed change of pace for Alessa. She enjoyed being back in class, able to practice magic again and just the feeling of Hogwarts alone was enough to make her all warm inside.  
During the summer she had decided to join the frog choir and even though it took a couple of practices she soon found herself fitting in and she enjoyed the way choir gave her a break from her regular school activities.

This year's classes were different from last year's, herbology being the most obvious one. Last year Hufflepuff had been grouped with Gryffindor but this year Gryffindor had been replaced with Ravenclaw.  
Alessa didn't mind terribly, Ravenclaws tended to be very fascinating, but she did miss having Neville as her partner.  
Being split into groups by Professor Sprout Alessa let her eyes travel across the faces of her fellow students. She didn't know what she was looking for but it seemed like a good way to pass time until she heard her name being called. A blonde Ravenclaw witch made her way to Alessa, she must be her new partner.  
The girl introduced herself as Vera Tuckett with a firm handshake, her blue eyes taking in Alessa's appearance as much as Alessa did hers. There was a certain sharpness to her features, particularly around the nose and chin. Her lips were thin and naturally pressed together in a narrow line giving her a stern look but when drawn up produced a very pleasant smile.  
They were both headstrong, resulting in a bit of tension in regards on how to best do things during class but as time went on they grew on each other. By the time Christmas came around Vera had been fully indoctrinated into Alessa's group of friends.  
Alessa's birthday was celebrated much like last year's with a small birthday cake decorated with yellow frosting, courtesy of Bunty, a young house elf who had taken a liking to Alessa during her nightly visits to the kitchens. It was late October and Alessa and her friends shared the cake in the Great Hall during supper in the candle light. The little party was cozy and by the end of the night they were all tired and their stomachs were hurting from laughing, seeing as the Weasley twins had joined them about half way through.

Alessa hadn't been very concerned when Professor Sprout asked her to stay behind after class one day, she was doing well in Herbology and saw no reason for her to worry.  
She was however very surprised when Professor Sprout asked her to help tutor a second year Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. Apparently his focus was not the best during class and his theoretical skills were even worse.  
The professor agreed that there was no real need for concern but she thought it better to nip it in the bud before it could get worse. Alessa had asked why not have an older student as a tutor but was given the answer that Draco Malfoy might find it degrading to have an older student look down on him.  
The blonde couldn't say she understood the professor's reasoning but she didn't argue, the 50 points she would earn for Hufflepuff didn't make her decision any harder either.  
The first time she was to met with Draco in the library he was 30 minutes late. When he finally arrived he came sauntering in without any books or quills and threw himself down in the chair opposite her.  
Alessa made sure to finish the sentence she was writing before acknowledging his presence, she'd been doing her Defense Against the Dark Arts-homework while she'd been waiting for him to show up. She hadn't been sure that he would so at least she would have gotten something done either way.  
She didn't bother commenting on the fact that he was late, a part of her told her he'd done it on purpose. Instead she just looked up from her books and extended her hand in greeting.  
“Alessa Marky, I'll be your tutor for Herbology.” Best to be thorough, after all.  
“I know.” He sneered, not bothering to shake her hand.  
“So where do you want to start?” She asked, not letting his attitude get to her. “What is it you're having trouble with?”  
“I'm not having trouble with anything.” He said sharply, leaning back in his chair. “The only reason I'm here is because I'm forced to, so don't think we're going to be friends or anything.”  
Alessa simply looked at him with a smile forming on her lips. Oh, he was going to be fun to work with. She couldn't wait to see what was underneath that facade of his.  
“Fine by me.” She said, opening her Herbology book to the chapter they were on. “How far have you gotten on the essay on Mandrakes?”  
By the look on his face he hadn't.  
So she spent the next hour showing him where he could find the information he should be looking for and pointing out a few things he'd need to include in his essay to make a good grade. At the end of the tutoring session he had left without a word, leaving Alessa to get back to her Defense-homework, wondering if she'd be seeing him next week at all.

The first attack happened after Halloween.  
Alessa had finished choir practice for the night and was enjoying a cup of hot chocolate in the common room when Hannah and Justin, along with what looked like the entire Hufflepuff House, entered, looking sickly pale.  
They told her about how Potter had found Mrs. Norris petrified and the strange writing on the wall. How the headmaster had sent everyone to their dormitories and just how frightened the teachers had seemed.  
She was actually quite pleased when Professor McGonagall had chosen to tell them about the Chamber of Secrets in her Transfiguration-class, the legend itself was exciting but she couldn't help worry about it actually being true. Many of her friends were muggle-borns and even if they weren't the whole concept of 'pure-blood families only' was just ridiculous.  
Her own father was muggle-born whilst her mother belonged to a “pure” bloodline and if anything her father was better at doing magic than her mother was.  
No one deserved to be viewed as anything less than they were.

 

Although everyone remained was on edge the school stayed open and everything continued as normal. Alessa even allowed herself to be dragged to the first Quidditch-match of the season. Gryffindor and Slytherin was playing and she joined Neville and the other Gryffindors even though she was one of the few on their bleacher who cheered when Slytherin scored.  
She supposed she was expected to cheer for one team only but that just wasn't her.  
Needless to say she was a big Quidditch-fan, she enjoyed the sport but all the rivalry between the teams tired her out. She didn't pick sides, not if she could help it, so she just cheered at any progress was made in the match, Gryffindor or not.  
This trait apparently shocked many people, even more so when the duelling club started and she got to watch the duel between Draco and Harry.  
As someone who considered herself a little North of terrible at Defence against Dark Arts she was surprised to see just how good the two boys were. They were only in their second year and she wondered if she was expected to be that good as well but when it became clear that Harry Potter was a parseltongue all thoughts about her lack of duelling-knowledge flew out the window.  
That was one thing she had not expected from Harry but no matter how much she wanted to ask him about it, prod and get to the bottom of it she gave him his space. He'd seemed surprised himself so maybe he hadn't even known he could do it in the first place.  
One more reason to leave him alone.

By the time Christmas came around there had been two more attacks and even though she was a half-blood herself Alessa couldn't wait to board the train to London. Most muggle-borns were as keen as her to spend the Christmas at home, almost none stayed in school for the holidays.  
Once home in Sussex Alessa spent most of her days with her parents, enjoying the feeling of safety of being home and away from any possible heir of Slytherin.  
Of course she'd told her parents about the attacks in her letters and it turned into several long discussions about it once she came home for the holidays.  
Mrs. Marky had insisted they pull her out of school until the culprit was caught, her father on the other hand had been calm as usual and asked his daughter what she wanted to do.  
Her mother had been livid, she was only a child and they were the parents! This was a decision for them to make. One had to agree with her at least partially but Alessa had told them she wanted to go back.  
She liked school, she didn't want to miss anything, and besides: if the legend was true and this wasn't all some crazy person going around petrifying students, ghosts and cats, she was a half-blood and the monster wouldn't harm her.  
It was flawed thinking, even for a child, and she knew it. Truth of the matter was that she wouldn't allow herself to stay back home if her friends at Hogwarts were in trouble.  
She confided in her father on Christmas Eve and even though he was terrified that something might happen to his daughter he would have done the same thing.  
The next morning when Alessa came downstairs for breakfast he had somehow managed to convince his wife to let her go back after the holidays.  
The rest of the school year would consist of letters every other day to make sure that she was all right and Alessa couldn't find it in herself to do anything other than love them more for it.

It was after the fourth attack that things started going crazy however.  
The 6 o'clock curfew meant most extra-curricular subjects, such as choir, and some elective subjects were cancelled. Having teachers escort them to and from their classes made them all feel trapped and it didn't do much to assure them, if anything the extra precautions made the students more nervous.  
The night Ginny Weasley was snatched by the monster the Hufflepuff common room was in disarray. Professor Sprout had assured them they would be safe there but no amount of assurance or hot chocolate could settle the students' nerves.  
Some were pacing, some were crying, some were just staring straight ahead as if the fear had petrified them too.  
Alessa, although on the brink of tears herself, found herself trying to calm down a crying Hannah enough to get her to bed. By the time her friend had finally managed to sleep most of the students had followed their example and gone to bed.  
Bunty had been nice enough to bring her another mug of hot chocolate but in the end Alessa hadn't been able to keep from crying and it wasn't until Cedric Diggory noticed her distress and sat down and talked to her that her heart felt a little lighter.  
They didn't really talk about anything in particular, she suspected he was just trying to keep her mind off the tragedy but she appreciated his efforts. They mostly spoke about her classes, what she liked about them and the like before the conversation carried on to most personal topics.  
They found they both had a love for flying and once he got started on the subject there seemed to be no stopping him. She enjoyed the warm smile on his face as he got started on Quidditch and she found herself relaxing as she made herself comfortable with her mug of chocolate and just listened to the sound of his voice.  
By the time their eyes were starting to itch in the need of sleep and yawns punctuated every other sentence it was early morning and they were some of the very few left in the common room. A third-year girl had fallen asleep in one of the armchairs across the room and two others were leaning against each other, seemingly having been deep in conversation before they both had tuckered out as well.  
Alessa and Cedric said goodnight, more like 'good morning' according to Cedric, before they parted ways to get some sleep and when Alessa woke up only a few hours later it was to the sound of cheering.  
It didn't take long for the entire school to learn of what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets that night and it was as if the school itself drew a breath of relief when it was clear that the monster of Slytherin would never harm another muggle-born again.

As the exams were cancelled, much to the relief of everyone apart from Hermione Granger it would seem, the last few weeks of the term were spent going to classes and practising as much magic as they possibly could before they had to go back home.

The train ride back to London was spent laughing, eating sweets and talking about what they would do during the summer.  
She'd made several new friends this year, despite all the horrible attacks, and she gave every single one of them a big hug before they left the train. She even managed to get a nod in acknowledgement when she told Draco to have a nice summer and it was with a wide smile that she found her mum and dad in the crowd. Maybe he wasn't so far from being a friend as he liked to think.


	4. Chapter 4

” _We are not having this discussion again, Christopher!”_  
Oh no, her mother was using her father's full name. That was never a good sign, Alessa thought as she sat down at the top of the stairs, still dressed in her pyjamas.  
“ _Tindra, Hogwarts is safe. Sirius wouldn't be able to get in even if he tried.”_  
“ _'Safe'? Need I remind you that it was only last year a monster was trying to eradicate muggle-borns from the school?”_  
The sound of her mother's voice was growing weaker and then stronger, a sure sign she was pacing as she spoke. Her father however seemed to be calm and stationary.  
“ _This and that are two different things and you know it. Sirius-”_  
“ _Sirius Black is no friend of ours!”_ Alessa was taken back by the raw emotion in her mother's voice, she'd never heard anything like it before. _“We trusted him and he betrayed our friends. Lily and James are dead because of him, Christopher!”_  
The house turned deathly quiet.  
It was several moments before the scraping of a chair was heard and her father's voice was heard again.  
“ _Come here, darling. Come here, it's all right. You'll catch him, I know you will.”_  
“ _You still want to send her to school, don't you?”_  
“ _The chance of him showing up there are slim, and Dumbledore's likely to prepare for it either way. She loves school, it wouldn't be fair to keep her home.”_  
A small pop was heard and Mimsy was sitting next to her on the steps, looking up at her with her big brown eyes.  
“Listening in, are we, miss?” Her soft voice sounded and as usual Alessa could hear the mischief in it. The kind of mischief that had so often been present in her grandmother's voice.  
“How else am I supposed to know what's going on?” She smiled, accepting the small piece of chocolate Mimsy offered her.  
“Your grandmother used to do that too, you know. Got her into quite a bit of trouble at times.”  
“And I'm sure you had no part in those what so ever.”  
The secretive smile that crossed the elf's face more than answered her question.  
“Mimsy has always been a loyal elf.”  
“I'll take that as a 'yes'.” She grinned making the elf shrug.  
“Young miss will do what the young miss wants.”  
Alessa couldn't help but imagine how many times those words had been uttered before she'd aided her grandmother with whatever mischief she had planned.  
Despite her parents disagreement she ended up being allowed to return to Hogwarts in the fall. The question of her safety at school had been popping up several times during the last two years, she could only hope it wouldn't become a regular thing.

The day her letter arrived she had been visiting Vera's house in Kent. It was a visit they had talked about most of the summer and once there Alessa had realised there were many things she didn't know about muggles' day to day-life. Her father was muggle-born so she knew many things but she was still beyond fascinated by CD-players, microwaves and lawnmowers.  
Vera was the middle-child of three daughters and the only witch in her family which meant very interesting conversations about how wizards and witches did things differently from muggles. Vera's older sister seemed to take extra notice when the conversation took a turn towards glamour-spells and potions that would make pimples go away overnight.

Mr. Tuckett, a kind man who shared his daughters' sharp features, drove Alessa, Vera and her sisters to London in his car. Alessa was giddy all the way there about how different it was from riding a broomstick or a train.  
Alessa waited outside Gringotts with the sisters while Vera and her father went inside to exchange their muggle money. It was only the sisters' second time to Diagon Alley and Alessa made it a point to try and answer as many of their questions as she could. She guessed they were as fascinated by her world as she was of theirs.  
They decided to leave their school books for last seeing as they would most likely stay there the whole day and instead went to buy some of the other things they needed. As it turned out both Alessa and Vera had grown several inches over the summer which meant a visit to Madame Malkin's to buy new robes before heading to Scribbulus Writing Implementsto to pick up new ink and quills.

Exiting the shop Alessa caught sight of familiar blond head coming towards them and she made sure to greet him friendly. Of course he didn't offer her any kind of smile but she did get a quiet nod in response and she supposed it was better than nothing until she caught sight of Vera's face. She wouldn't look at Draco as he passed them and she looked about willing to do anything to get away from him.  
“Are you all right?” Alessa asked her once he'd passed, noticing Vera's older sister was glaring at the blond boy.  
“I don't like him.” Vera whispered, obviously not wanting her dad to hear her. “After what happened last year... I'd just rather avoid him.”  
Alessa nodded, his obvious distaste for muggle-borns must still linger in Vera's mind and who could blame her?  
To take her mind off Draco Alessa suggested they go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour next before they would attempt to brave the masses at Flourish and Blotts in search for their school books.  
Her plan to clear her friend's mind seemed to work and by the time they were sitting in the car on their way back to Kent Vera was laughing and joking with her sisters, all thoughts of Draco Malfoy seemingly washed away. 

The train ride to Hogwarts was unlike any other she'd experienced. She, Vera, Neville and Hannah had managed to find a compartment with only one other student in it, a Ravenclaw named Luna.  
Vera knew her from before but the others soon figured out why she'd been alone when they found her, she was slightly odd to say the least. Needless to say Alessa had great fun observing her and her her behaviour for most of the ride.  
The dementors boarding and searching the train was something they had not expected and for the remainder of the ride the train seemed more quiet than usual. In an attempt to brighten the mood they ended up passing around sweets from the trolley and Alessa tried to prepare herself for her first choir performance which was to take place after the sorting ceremony.

Although she was nervous she couldn't help but smile as the first years walked through the Great Hall, looking frightened and oh so small. She found it difficult to believe it had only been two years since she had been in their place. In the end they had welcomed 15 new students to Hufflepuff but unlike some Alessa had also made sure to applaud and cheer loudly as each first year joined their new house, no matter which it was. She still couldn't get the booing sounds out of her head from when the Slytherins in her year had been chosen for their house.

She had chosen two electives and two extra-curricular subject for this year: Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies, and Frog Choir and Magical Theory. She was extra excited about Care of Magical Creatures knowing that the gamekeeper was to be their professor.  
She hadn't had much interaction with him since their first year when he guided them across the lake to the school but she'd heard nice things about him from Luna, who apparently went wandering around in search for something called thestrals quite often and had gotten to know him that way.  
She hadn't had classes with Gryffindor and Slytherin together before but even before the class had started she could feel the tension between them. It wasn't made better by the fact that Neville forgot to stroke his book's spine, resulting in berating comments from Draco and his friends. She didn't like it very much but several Gryffindors came to Neville's defense so she saw no special need to get involved in what seemed to turn into a pretty heated situation.  
She did however store away Draco's inclination to surround himself with yay-sayers and his need to act superior until such time where she could mull over it properly.  
Now, Alessa had never actually seen a hippogriff before in her life but in a strange way Buckbeak reminded her of her mother. The pride and the temperament, dangerous if handled the wrong way.  
Just how dangerous a hippogriff could be when offended showed when Draco made the mistake of trying to prove himself better at handling the creature better than Harry. She felt sorry for him getting injured but if his pride had allowed him to take directions from Hagrid he wouldn't be so she actually felt the most sorry for Hagrid.  
By the abrupt end of the lesson Alessa had learned one thing: her mother had most likely been a hippogriff in her past life.

 Alessa liked the new DADA-professor. Unlike the previous, Lockhart, Professor Lupin actually seemed to know what he was doing. There was a certain kindness to him as he called Neville forward and she found herself respecting the way he didn't mock the boy's fear of Professor Snape.  
Repelling the Boggart was both heart-wrenching and enlightening.  
As Alessa stepped up her grandmother appeared, a small woman with big owl-like glasses, her mother and father and even Mimsy following shorty after. Their faces were bloody and beaten, scrunched up in fear as they one by one were struck down by some invisible force.  
“Wand at the ready, Alessa.” Lupin's voice reminded her and it took every ounce of strength in her body to snap out of it.  
“Riddikulus!” Her voice was thick with pain but somehow it did the trick.  
Her family suddenly stood up, bouncing about happily as they wiped the blood from their faces before stilling to take a big bow, as if finishing some sort of performance. She thought she even saw her grandmother wink at her and it made her laugh despite herself. It was not a leap to think her grandmother could have done something similar in her youth, although hopefully less traumatising.

By the end of the lesson Alessa was in the back of the classroom packing up her books when Professor Lupin approached her.  
“Mind if I keep you for a moment, miss Marky?” He asked, his hands casually shoved into the pockets of his trousers.  
“I'll see you back in the common room?” Hannah said as she passed her, receiving a nod in return and a smile from the professor before she exited the room.  
“I just wanted to see that you were all right before you left.” Professor Lupin said making Alessa smile.  
“Thank you, sir. I'll be fine, I just, um...” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I wasn't expecting to see my grandmother, that's all.”  
“Ah, yes, Astrid.” Lupin mused with a look of nostalgia in his eyes. “She was a very interesting old witch.”  
“You knew her, sir?”  
“I first met her at her shop in Diagon Alley, had the best sweets in London if I remember correctly. I'm very sorry for your loss by the way.”  
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.” Alessa managed to keep her voice clear of sadness, not without difficulty however. “And she would have been pleased you liked her sweets.”  
Lupin chuckled, looking almost lost in a memory.  
“Actually I think she would have been offended if I didn't. Probably would have turned me blue for if should she have been so inclined.”  
“I remember she liked tricks and mischief, they always made me laugh.”

It was with a genuinely happy smile she bid her professor goodbye. Even though she would have managed without it she was very glad he had taken the time to talk to her after class. The memories of her grandmother's tricks had left her with a peaceful feeling as opposed to an empty one.  
That night she would dream of their trip to France and of how much fun they'd had playing little harmless tricks on non-suspecting muggles.

 

In hindsight Alessa had no idea how she'd managed to get her permission-form to Hogsmeade signed, what with Sirius Black being on the run, but she had a sinking feeling her father might have signed it without consulting her mother and in a way she was glad. That was an argument that she did not want to be present for.

Her parents were polar opposites in many aspects, perhaps most of all when it came to trusting people. Her mother, although very kind, did not trust anyone until that trust had been earned. Alessa could only assume that working as an auror for the Ministry hadn't helped her distrusting nature.  
Her father on the other hand could often be described as naïve. He had a strong urge to think the best of things and people, a trait that would annoy his wife to no end. But Christopher Marky was no fool. If he saw signs of foul play he was not the type of person who would rush in head first. No, he'd keep his distance, assess the situation and act according to his findings.  
He was a thinker, not a doer. A trait Alessa had no doubt inherited.

 

Her first visit to Hogsmeade. The village was quaint and although she found herself comparing Honeyduke's to her grandmother's shop in Diagon Alley she really enjoyed herself. Honeyduke's did not quite measure up to the standards Astrid Marky had set. _Mrs Marky's Sweet Treats_ , oh how she missed that shop!

Upon entering the Three Broomsticks Alessa caught a glimpse of Draco, sitting a corner with a dark-haired Slytherin girl who she remembered as Pansy Parkinson. They looked quite friendly, chatting, drinking their butterbeers. He actually seemed a little more relaxed than usual which was nice to see.  
“Order me a butterbeer, will you?” Alessa asked Neville before she made her way over to Draco and Pansy. She could feel Neville's nervousness oozing through the air as she approached them but paid it little attention, after all Neville was nervous about a lot of things he didn't need to be.  
“What are _you_ doing here?” Pansy drawled as she looked up to see the Hufflepuff standing by their table, obviously displeased about being interrupted.  
“Sorry to bother you.” Alessa said genuinely. “I just wondered, Draco, if you still wanted to meet in the library on Tuesday to go over the Herbology-assignment?”  
For a moment it looked like he wouldn't answer her, just nod his head as he always did whenever she spoke to him in public, but she was pleased to find he gave a verbal answer.  
“Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you there after lunch.”  
“Great.” She smiled at them. “Again, sorry to bother you.”

She received concerned looks when she got back to her table even if no one said anything.  
“We're partners in Herbology this year.” She explained tiredly, not really knowing why she bothered. “I'm helping him with next week's assignment.”  
Again no one said anything but she could see the look of disapproval on Vera's face, it wasn't like she ever made an effort to hide her opinion on Draco Malfoy so why start now?

After second period potions Alessa made a short stop in her dormitory before lunch to fetch her Herbology and DADA-books. The only class she had left that day was Astronomy and she had a good ten hours before then so she might as well keep herself busy.  
She had a quick lunch by the Gryffindor-table, catching an earful of colorful theories about Black's whereabouts and how he'd managed to get into the castle that night.  
By the time she'd finished her Shepard’s pie one boy was convinced Black must have transformed himself into a speck of dust and simply floated into the castle and Hannah was telling anyone who would listen that Black could transform himself into a flowering shrub to avoid detection.  
Needless to say Alessa didn't think any of their theories entirely probable.

It was a little after 12 when Draco joined her in the library. The sun was shining brightly through the big windows and had it been spring Alessa would have insisted they study outside. But seeing as the wind was picking up she was pretty glad they weren't.  
They worked for about an hour before they ran into trouble. Apparently the uses of the severing curse were not as obvious as they'd first thought, it took them a trip to the reference section and a little book called C _harms created for professions and the other way around_ to find enough information for their assignment.  
"You seem to know your way around here." Draco pointed out when she effortlessly returned the book to exactly the right spot where they'd found it.  
"I suppose." She shrugged. "It's easier to study here than in the common room sometimes. More peace and quiet."  
"Hm." Draco lips twitched. "And here I thought you didn't have to study."  
"Why wouldn't I have to study?"  
"I guess you just seem like a natural, that's all."  
Alessa chuckled.  
"At charms perhaps but everything else takes a lot of effort. Some subjects take more than others." "Like what?"  
"Defense Against Dark Arts."  
"What? I never would have guessed a Hufflepuff would be terrible at DADA." A sneer worked its way into his voice and she could only assume he meant to be sarcastic.  
"'Terrible' is an exaggeration, 'seemingly inadequate' feels a lot more accurate."  
"...Are you really that bad?"  
"I've worked very hard not to fail the class for the past two years. I'm just worried it might not be enough one year."  
"Do you need help?"  
Alessa looked up at him, trying to see of he was serious.  
"Are you offering, Draco?"  
"I guess I am, my good grade wasn't thanks to me last year. And besides, if you hadn't accepted I would have been stuck with either Granger or Longbottom so I owe you for that at least."  
"You don't owe me anything. I was just happy to help."  
It was Draco's turn to see if she was serious.  
"You're telling me you spent a entire year tutoring me simply because you wanted to help?"  
"Well, I did earn some house points in the process but I would have done it either way. So yeah, I guess I am."  
"You're a very strange person, do you know that, Marky?"  
"I've been told countless times, Draco. And if you're offering I'd appreciate the help."

And so it came to be that for the rest of the year they met up on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays to study. Tuesdays were reserved for Herbology, Fridays were theoretical DADA and a few hours every Sunday for duelling.  
Seeing as her Mondays were sort of packed this only left Wednesdays, and some Saturdays, free for her to study with Hannah and the others. She would have liked to spend a little more time with them but she needed Draco's help more seeing as he was more proficient in her weak subjects than they were.  
Luna was able to help her quite a bit with her Transfiguration-homework but other than that they all seemed to favour the same subjects.

 

That Saturday was another Quidditch-match, Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff, and as usual she cheered for both teams. She truly enjoyed watching Cedric in his element, he wasn't Hufflepuff's seeker for nothing. They won the match and to Cedric's credit he tried to get a re-match because of the unfortunate circumstances concerning Harry and the dementors.  
He was rather upset when he entered the common room after the match, apparently his plea hadn't been heard and Hufflepuff remained the winners.  
He had thrown himself down in one of the armchairs by the fire, looking like a storm cloud which warded off most people and Alessa could only imagine he blamed himself for what had happened to Harry.  
“It wasn't your fault, you know.” She said as she sat down next to him.  
He looked up at her but his stern face didn't change and his hands were clutching onto each other just as tight as before. His knuckles were close to white.  
“They wouldn't listen to me.” He muttered, looking down at his hands again. “It's not fair.”  
“Hey.” Alessa placed her hands over his, making him relax a little. “You did the right thing, Cedric. No expects you to do anything more than that.”  
“I just...” One of his thumb started rubbing circles across the back of her hand but looking up at him he seemed so lost in thought Alessa doubted he even knew he was doing it.  
“It wasn't his fault, nor was it yours. You won because you caught the snitch first, not because you took advantage of Harry's situation.”  
“But I should have...”  
“You're the seeker, Cedric. Your job is to keep your eyes on the snitch, not on the opposite team's seeker. If you did you wouldn't be as good as you are.”  
She wasn't sure if he believed her but at least he didn't look like a dark storm cloud any more when she left him to study with Luna and Vera. He looked more like a rain cloud on a sunny day; not so bad considering the circumstances.

 

“You really are awful.” Draco pointed out after he'd easily disarmed her for the fifth time in a row.  
“I'm well aware, thank you.” She dead-panned before going to pick up her wand again. “It's kind of the reason you're helping me.”  
Draco laughed and Alessa was surprised at how light and carefree he sounded.  
“Why don't you do that more often?” She asked curiously, cocking her head to the side as she watched his reaction.  
“What? Berate you? I could do that more often if you want.” He smirked but Alessa shook her head.  
“No. Why don't you laugh like that more often?”  
“I laugh plenty.” He answered with a shrug but she could see his defences coming up.  
“No. You jeer, there's quite a difference.”  
His shoulders squared and she could now see just what it was about him that had made her curious in the first place.  
“You're trying too hard.” She smiled, pleased about figuring it out.  
“Excuse me?”  
She took note of how low his voice had gotten, he was well on his way to becoming angry.  
“When you're with your friends there's something off about you. I just figured out what it is: You're trying to hard to make them like you.”  
“You don't know what you're talking about.” He took a step forward and she took notice of how he would soon tower over her if kept it up.  
“It makes sense, Draco. You only really tease, bully and degrade people when they're with you. When you're just you you're actually quite pleasant to be around.”  
At this he said nothing but he kept moving toward her, his face contorted in anger.  
“If you spent less time trying to impress them you might feel better.”  
“Shut up!”

She was suddenly shoved into the wall behind her and a twinge of fear settled in her mind. She'd been so caught up in dissecting his behaviour that she hadn't registered it might just be a bad idea. At the moment she couldn't remember if she'd ever done it to anyone's face before.  
She looked up into his eyes and was surprised to see that they weren't light blue as she'd assumed for the last two and a half year, but rather grey. Like she did so much else about him she found them fascinating and probably would have stared herself blind at them if a hand hadn't gripped her upper arm roughly.  
“You don't know what you're talking about, Marky.” He all but growled. “You have no idea what it's like to be me.”  
“Maybe not.” She agreed, not dissuaded by his grip on her arm. “But I do know you're not happy being you. I can see it, you know.” She cocked her head to the side, a lock of hair falling across her face as she did. “And I don't think it's fair, you not feeling like you'll be accepted for who you are.”  
His grip tightened, causing a slight shiver of pain go through her but he didn't say anything.  
She placed her hand on top of his and he drew back as if he'd been slapped.  
“Just so you know...” She walked over to the corner of the empty classroom to pick up her bag. “I don't care who you're supposed to be. I can promise you one thing; If you're still willing to help me you never have to pretend to be somebody you're not.”

 

When Christmas came around she still hadn't spoken to Draco and she realised she might just have lost her study partner and possible friend. She found this realisation saddening and more than once her friends had asked her if something was wrong. Even Cedric had noticed and cornered her the day before they were supposed to go home for the holidays.  
He was quite adamant about getting an answer out of her so in the end she'd ended up telling him the truth. She told him how she had gotten a little caught up in analysing a friend, she didn't say who and Cedric didn't ask, and was worried she'd ended up hurting him.  
Cedric didn't say anything aside from asking an occasional question. When she was done he gave her a hug and told her to let it go over the holidays and seek this friend out to clear the air once they got back to school.  
She couldn't argue that he made a good point so she did as he suggested and let it lie over Christmas.

Alessa had expected another loud discussion about her safety at Hogwarts when she got home but according to Mimsy once her mother had been informed that Remus Lupin was the new DADA-professor she'd let it go. The house-elf divulged she might have heard something similar to “I hope Lupin gets him before the dementors.”.  
Mimsy didn't say if her parents had said anything else on the subject but her mother seemed strangely relaxed, albeit tired, under the circumstances. No doubt she'd been working overtime again.  
As usual the holidays passed quickly and Alessa soon found herself on the train back to Hogwarts sharing a compartment with Vera, Hannah, Cedric and the Weasley twins.  
As usual Fred and George made her laugh until her sides hurt and if the look on Cedric's face was anything to go by he was glad she was feeling better than she had the last time they met.  
Getting off the train she looked for Draco but couldn't spot him. Riding the horseless carriages up to the castle she figured she could just try to talk to him after class the next day.

She had just started unpacking her trunk when she heard a soft pop and when she turned around a familiar house-elf was standing on her bed.  
“Bunty!” She said happily, she'd missed her over the holidays. “How are you?”  
“Oh, Bunty is good, miss.” The little elf blushed, her words heavily accented. “Bunty has something for miss.”  
Alessa watched her pull out an envelope from her shirt and hand it to her.  
“Who gave you this?” The girl asked as she accepted it, turning it over to see her name written on it.  
“A boy, miss. Wouldn't say who he was.” Bunty shook her all but bald head with a hurt look on her face. “Was very mean, he was. Told me to give it to you, miss. No one but you, miss.”  
She had a guess as to who it was.  
“You did good, Bunty.” She leaned down to kiss the elf's head. “Thank you.”  
Bunty blushed an even deeper shade of red before raising her eyes to Alessa.  
“You're very welcome, miss. Anything for you, miss.”

Alessa waited until Bunty had disapparated to open the envelope. She wasn't very surprised when a letter fell out and pulled the curtains of her bed closed before she unfolded and started reading the letter.

“ _Marky,  
__Meet me after fifth period tomorrow, Monday in case you missed it, in the sixth-floor corridor._

_D.M”_

Well, she hadn't really expected a heartfelt letter explaining his feelings but he sure hadn't wasted much ink. A part of her wondered if it hadn't been less trouble for him to just tell her that in passing but he'd reached out to her and that was a good start. It saved her the trouble of having to chasing him around the school.  
  
“If you tell anyone about this I'll obliviate every happy memory from your head, do you understand?”  
Alessa resisted the urge to roll her eyes and just nodded. After a year and a half he should have known that threats wouldn't be very effective but if it made him feel better, why not go with it?  
“You were right, okay?”  
She had to literally bite her tongue to stop herself from smiling at his admission, she'd gotten it right!  
“I do try my best to impress my friends, I don't want people to think that I'm weak. I'm supposed to be like my dad and...” He cleared his throat and Alessa tactfully chose to ignore that his eyes had gotten a little red. “I don't think I want to.”  
She nodded, not really knowing what to say to that. For all she knew this was the most emotion he'd shown for Merlin knows how long and she didn't want to say the wrong thing.  
“So don't be.”  
Yeah, she probably could use a little brush-up on her tact.  
“How about this?” She continued before he could open his mouth again, an attempt to salvage the conversation if you will. “When you're with me you can be whoever you want to be. And if you don't know who that is then I can help you find out.”

Draco stayed silent for a good while and she waited patiently for him. This couldn't be easy for him.  
“Why would you do that for someone like me?” He finally asked, his voice a lot more rough than before.  
“Because I think you deserve better.” She looked him dead in the eye, a little smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “And because I kind of like who you are when you relax and don't try to impress anyone.”  
She could see a small, unbelieving smile crawl across his lips at her words.  
“You never have to lie to me, Draco. Never.”

The news about Sirius Black having been found on the school grounds only to once again slip through the Ministry's fingers travelled fast.  
The morning after, and all through the last few weeks of the term, rumours and theories were flying about, each one more unbelievable than the next.  
Although Alessa found great entertainment in listening to all of this her mind ultimately stayed focused on her exams. Something that did throw her off was the fact that professor Lupin decided to leave the school. Apparently his status as a werewolf was being frowned upon and instead of being kicked out he'd decided to just bow out gracefully. At least that was the story going around school.  
She found she'd really miss him next year.

 


	5. Chapter 5

  
  


“Feeling a bit tired, are we, Lessa?” Cedric grinned at her from his spot in the tree.  
“Shut up.” She smiled, throwing a handful of leaves up at him although they fell straight back down at her again. “I was so excited last night I couldn't sleep. It's not my fault you're a morning person.”  
She glanced at her dad who was standing talking to Mr. Diggory and giggled as he too stifled a yawn. No one in her family was really a morning person it seemed.  
“So who do you hope will win, the Irish or the Bulgarians?”  
She looked up to see Cedric having moved higher up, dangling his feet in the air with an excited grin.  
“You know me, I don't take sides. I just enjoy the sport, as long as it's a good match I don't care who wins.”  
His laugh sounded clearly in the woods and it brought a smile to her lips. There was something so real about it, she couldn't explain it but it made her happy.  
“I don't think I'll ever fully understand how that mind of yours works, Lessa.”  
“Maybe you just have to try a little harder is all.” She grinned up at him. “Are you going to stay up there until the Weasely's arrive?”  
He didn't have the time to answer as said family came walking into the clearing with happy, albeit tired, looks on their faces.

“Arthur!” Mr. Diggory called happily when he noticed them. “It's about time, son.”  
“Sorry, Amos. Some of us had a bit of a late start.” Mr. Weasley said. “Christopher, it's good to see you.” He greeted her father after having shaken Mr. Diggory's hand. “Tindra had to work, did she?”  
“Yeah.” Her father laughed. “And you can imagine just how happy she was about that.”  
Alessa moved from the tree towards the group as Mr. Weasley turned his attention to her.  
“And you must be Alessa. Arthur Weasley.” He reached out his hand again and shook hers with an excited look on his face. “I've heard so much about you from Tindra over the years, it's nice to finally meet you.”  
“You too, Mr. Weasley.”  
“You've met everyone at school?” He asked, gesturing to his children and, now that she looked closer, Harry and Hermione.  
“Yeah, we're the best of mates!” Fred piped up, a tone of exaggeration in his voice that made Alessa chuckle.  
“Never go anywhere without each other!” George continued making their father shake his head.  
As he turned his head back to the others Cedric apparently thought now would be a good time to reveal himself and dropped down right next to his father.  
Alessa could see Hermione and Ginny share a look of interest at his arrival and decided to store the information away for later when they were in their tent. Cedric was a handsome young man but it never got tiring to see him blush whenever someone pointed it out, Alessa found this most amusing.

At the match she'd ended up standing between Cedric and George which was an experience to say the least. They were both screaming and cheering so loudly she didn’t think she'd be able to hear properly for at least a week. But it would be worth it.  
She'd been to the World Cup once before but it was even better than she remembered it. The atmosphere, the crowd, the fireworks, she loved all of it. But most of all she loved the sport!  
She loved it so much that Cedric had told her to try out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team several times during the summer, they had spent a week together at her house, but she had just laughed at his efforts. She was about as uncompetitive as one could get and had no need, nor any intention, of trying to outdo the other Hogwarts houses.

 In the end Ireland won the World Cup and although Alessa wanted to spend more time with the Weasley twins, high on life and the victory as they were, she followed Cedric and their fathers back to their own tent.  
The fireworks going off above them were green and white and lit up the sky as the cheering and celebration around them continued.  
The summer air was cool and Alessa found herself shivering as the adrenaline from the match died down and her previous night's lack of sleep made itself reminded, she couldn't wait to get a fire started in their tent.  
“Getting sleepy, Lessa?” Cedric grinned beside her before placing his arm around her, pulling her close to warm her up.  
“Yeah.” She yawned and wrapped both her arms around his waist as they kept walking. He was warm and very snuggle-friendly and in her hazy mind she found herself wondering if he'd been a radiator in a past life.  
Both Cedric and Alessa chose to ignore the fact that their fathers had gone suspiciously quiet in front of them.

 She and Cedric was sitting on the couch, warming up in front of the fireplace, when the first signs of trouble showed themselves. The shouting outside got louder and the sound of fireworks being fired a little too close to their tent jerked Alessa awake. She'd fallen asleep against Cedric's side and tiredly looked up at him to see if he had been the one to wake her up but he looked at confused as she felt. He must have dozed off as well.  
She barely managed to catch sight of her father exiting the tent before Mr. Diggory ushered them up from the couch in a rushed manner.  
“Dad, what's going on?” Cedric asked as his father pushed their jacket into their hands.  
“Trouble.” Mr. Diggory said seriously, his wand now tightly gripped in his hand.  
“What kind of trouble?” Alessa pressed, not liking the way the shouting outside had turned to screaming.  
Mr. Diggory didn't have the time to answer as Alessa's father came running back into the tent.  
“Death Eaters.” He said, eerily calm and Alessa's heart felt like it had just frozen solid. “We need to get the children out. Now!”  
And like that, without another word of explanation, Cedric and Alessa were ushered out of the tent and told to get back to the Portkey and keep each other safe.

The chaos outside was frightening. People were horrified, screaming and running for safety in panic, and there was fire spreading across the field, destroying everything in its way.  
“Stay close to me!” Cedric called over the noise before picking out the direction for the Portkey and grabbed a hold of her hand so he wouldn't lose her in the crowd.

Even if Cedric did his best to keep her up and moving Alessa was knocked to the ground four times on their way to the Portkey. She was after all quite small, and light, and was more than easy to knock off her feet.  
The last one really knocked the air out of her and she was more than happy to sit down in the safety of the greenery to try and catch it again. Her wand was still tightly in her hand and she was still on edge, trying to remember everything Draco had taught her last year.  
_Don’t let the fear get to you_ .  
Don’t let the fear get to you, she was having great trouble with that one but having Cedric with her sure helped. He was only two year older than her but she felt safe knowing that she wasn't alone.  
The sound of approaching footsteps made them both tense but when George's voice sounded Cedric stepped out of the bushes.  
"Hey, are you guys all right?" He asked, his eyes moving over them to look for any injuries.  
"Yeah, yeah." Fred answered between heavy breaths. "We're good, you?"  
He looked at Alessa who had yet to get up off the ground.  
"Scared and bruised but in one piece, thank Merlin. Where are the others?" She asked when she realised Harry, Ron, Hermione and Mr. Weasley weren't with them.  
"Dad stayed behind. Harry got separated in the crowd, I think Ron and 'mione went back to help him." Ginny offered before following Alessa's example and sunk to the ground to rest her tired legs.  
"What the hell's going on?" Alessa hissed, daring a look at the burning field. "What are Death Eaters doing here of all places?"  
She was met with silence, the others as shocked and confused as her and it wasn't until Cedric sat down next to her and pulled her to him that she noticed she was shaking.

It must have been a good hour before Alessa could hear the sound of her mother's voice, frantically calling her name. Tindra Marky was an emotional person but the distress she'd felt when news of Death Eater-sightings at the World Cup had reached the Ministry, could not compare to anything she'd ever felt before. Not when she knew her daughter and husband were there.  
“Mum!” Alessa checked that the coast was clear before running out from the woods and into her mother's arms.  
“Oh, thank Merlin, you're all right!” Her mother clung onto her as if she'd just returned from the dead, tears on the verge of falling from her eyes. “Where's your father?”  
“I don't know.” Alessa felt her own tears fall as she breathed in her mother's scent. “I don't know, he stayed behind with Mr. Diggory.”  
Her mother nodded and loosened her hold on Alessa to look to the teenagers behind her.  
“And you?” She asked, letting her eyes scan them for injuries. “Are you kids hurt?”  
“No.” Cedric spoke up. “Just cold and shaken up.”  
Another nod and Alessa felt her mother reluctantly let go.  
“All right, I need you all to listen to me.” Tindra conjured a pile of blankets and handed them to Fred. “We still haven't searched all the grounds for the Death Eaters so I need you to stay here just a little while longer.”  
Her serious tone of voice left no room for arguing and they all nodded before wrapping themselves in the blankets, happy for the protection from the cool wind.  
“As soon as it's safe me, Christopher, Arthur or Amos will come for you. Until then stay hidden.”

They all went back to waiting once they were alone again. They all bundled up, trying to keep warm and Fred and George did their best to keep them in high spirits, even though they were just as shaken as the rest of them.

  
  


Once back home again Alessa barely saw her mother for a week. The Aurors, and most of the Ministry, were all working overtime to figure out what had happened and who would have summoned the Dark Mark.  
Even though her mother had promised to go dress shopping with her before Alessa returned to Hogwarts she ended up taking the tube into London with Vera and her older sister.  
She was disappointed of course but didn't show it to her mother, knowing it wasn't her fault she had to work.  
“So what is the occasion?” Vera's sister, Amanda, had asked when she was browsing the racks in a shop.  
“Um, I'm not quite sure actually.” Vera answered from the other side.  
“They haven't actually told us. The supply list just said they were for formal occasions.” Alessa continued, holding out a salmon pink dress for opinions.  
“Don't like the cut.” Vera assessed matter-of-factly making her show the dress to Amanda.  
“Not your colour.” The older sister said in the same tone of voice.  
The assertiveness obviously ran in the family, Alessa thought and hung the dress back.  
“Alessa, do you have a boyfriend?”  
Amanda's question made Alessa do a double-take, the casual way she'd asked just seemed a little strange to her.  
“Um, no. No boyfriend.” She felt her face heat up a bit as she distracted herself with browsing the racks. “Why do you ask?”  
“Well, Vera's been mentioning you've been close with this bloke called Malfoy lately. Just curious.”  
Alessa had been expecting Vera to busy herself with the dresses but when she looked over the pointy-faced witch was watching her intently.  
“Draco? Draco's not my boyfriend. I've been helping him out with his Herbology.”  
“You've spent a lot of time together for people who's just studying Herbology.” Vera pointed out and Alessa couldn't help but feel she was being interrogated, her friend's brash personality showing its pretty face.  
“If you must know, Vera, he's been tutoring me in DADA as a 'thank you'. I actually managed a better grade than the year before thanks to him.”  
This seemed to take Vera back a little and she turned back to the colourful dresses.  
“I don't trust him.” She said in a clear voice, pulling out a dark purple dress with short sleeves, eyeing it.  
“I'm not asking you to.” Alessa smiled at her, letting the  _I'm asking you to trust_ _ me _ go unsaid. “I like that one.”  
“Yeah?” Vera held up the dress for her sister to see and Alessa wasn't sure if her answer was to her remark about Draco or the dress.  
“Try it on.” Amanda said and Vera did as she was told.

After another hour the girls left the dress-shop and headed towards Diagon Alley. Mr. Marky was going to meet them outside Flourish & Blotts at 4 o'clock and they still had to buy the rest of their supplies.  
Amanda was fascinated as always as they entered Gringotts to money from Alessa's vault. Normally Vera would have needed to exchange her muggle money to wizard currency but Vera's parents had offered to pay for Alessa's dress in return for the Marky's paying for Vera's school things. All to avoid an extra visit to Gringotts.  
At 4 o'clock on the dot Mr. Marky was waiting for them outside of Flourish & Blotts and brought Vera and Amanda home with floo powder before apparating home with Alessa.

  
  


The announcement of the Triwizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts was interesting. Not being of age, and considering she had the competitive spirit of rock, she wasn't going to enter her name into the goblet of fire but she thoroughly enjoyed listening to Fred and George's  many ideas on how to beat the age-circle. After their shared night in the woods at the World Quidditch Cup she had taken to spending more time at the Gryffindor-table with the twins.  
Fred's many ideas and tricks always made her laugh but it was George's follow-ups that never failed to make her eyes water and her sides to hurt as she gasped for air between laughs.

Finding out that Cedric was thinking of putting his name in the cup Alessa couldn't help but feel a little worried. The tournament had been discontinued because of the deaths it left in its wake so her fears weren't unfounded but Cedric had just pulled her into a hug and assured her that he would be fine.  
She could only hope he was right.

  
  


“You're getting better, Marky.” Draco pointed out as they were heading to the Great Hall for dinner one day after their practice.  
She smiled at him happily but could only laugh at his next words.  
“You could probably beat a first year now.”  
“Are you ever going to admit that I'm doing good?” She asked, not able to resist the urge to elbow him in the ribs.  
“I just did, didn't I?” Draco looked down at her with a confused look on his face. Alessa doubted he understood that underhanded compliments weren't the same as honest compliments.  
“Piece of advice?” She grinned, walking ahead of him and turning to face him, now walking backwards into the Hall and towards the Hufflepuff table. “Next time just stick with 'you're getting better'.”  
He blinked at her, looking like she'd been speaking Gibberish.  
“Oh, and I'm 'Alessa' to my friends.” She winked and spun around, heading over to where Hannah, Vera and Luna were sitting.

“How was practice?” Luna asked as she sat down. She was by far the most supportive of her relationship with Draco and Alessa was thankful Vera had given up glaring at the Slytherin by the third week.  
“It was good. “Alessa smiled, loading her plate up with chicken, peas and mashed potatoes. “I actually managed to disarm him a couple of times even though I'm pretty sure he wasn't trying very hard.”  
Vera and Hannah said nothing but the look they shared spoke volumes. Hannah was worried, Vera was just aggravated.  
“So have you got dates for the Yule Ball?” Luna asked when she had finished her meal, voice breezy in that soft way that made Alessa feel calm and fuzzy on the inside.  
“Not yet.” Alessa shook her head, putting another forkful of food into her mouth.  
Hannah blushed and softly replied that Ernie MacMillan had asked her the other day in Transfiguration. That explained the giggling they'd heard from the back row.  
“What about you, Vera?” Alessa asked, turning her eyes to the Ravenclaw-girl.  
“I've got a date.” She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink casually but the tips of her ears was turning pink and obviously Alessa hadn't been the only one to notice.  
“Who is it?” Luna leaned in and her voice had gotten a little less breezy, probably because of her peak in interest.  
“One of the Weasley-twins.” Vera's usual tough-as-nails exterior seemed to crack as a giddy smile spread across her face.  
“Oh, which one?” Alessa leaned closer grinning.  
“George.” The name came out a little muffled because she was smiling so wide. “I asked him this morning and he said yes.”  
Her tone was back to matter-of-factly but she couldn't keep the smile off her lips.  
“That's great!” Alessa smiled at her friend.  
“I hear he's a really nice guy.” Hannah replied and Vera's ear grew even more pink.  
She mumbled something under her breath, something that sounded very much like “ _He sure is.”_

  
  


“Like the badge?”  
Alessa looked up from her book on Muggle Studies at the sound of Ernie's suddenly unpleasant voice and saw him and Hannah blocking someone's path. She'd never really cared much for Ernie, especially not since he'd gone out of his way to be nasty to the Gryffindors after the announcement of Harry as the second Hogwarts champion but was surprised at Hannah's behaviour. She was laughing and refusing to let the person through, Alessa had seen the badge of course but she hadn't expected her friend to be blatantly rude.  
Suddenly the person pushed him way past them, it was no other than Harry, and Alessa felt a stab of guilt that she hadn't stood up for him more. He looked downright depressed.  
He was walking towards them and she glanced down at Cedric, his head on her lap as she'd read, and she was glad to see a sliver of discomfort at the way his friends, not hers, jeered and booed Harry as he stood in front of them.  
“Can I have a word?” He said as Cedric shot up from her lap.  
“All right.”  
“You stink, Potter!” One of the boys yelled making Alessa glare daggers at him.  
“Shut up.” She said calmly, closing her book as she spoke.  
“What? You're on Scarhead's side?!” A boy names Andrew asked as if disgusted by the mere thought.  
“Traitor!” A girl who's name Alessa hadn't even bothered to remember gasped and a few others joined in with some less than civilised names and insults.  
They hurt but said nothing as she kept glaring at them until Cedric came back, they wouldn't have listened any way.  
He sat down next to her again, white as a ghost and the insults died down a bit. She wondered what Harry had told him to bring out this kind of a reaction when Andrew decided to open his mouth again.  
“Are you in love with the Stink?”  
He obviously meant Harry, the badge on his robes flashing green.  
“So what if I was? Would that turn you a decent human being?” She asked him calmly before gathering her school books in her bag. “I'll see you later, Cedric.”  
Her words seemed to Cedric out of it and as she began walking away from them she could hear him asking Andrew why she'd left.  
She didn't hear Andrew's answer as raised voices, coming from the other side of the square, drowned it out and she thought she could hear Draco's voice. Sighing to herself, wondering what he'd started now, she made her over to where the voices came from.

Once she reached the commotion she could see Ron Weasley glaring daggers at Draco, no doubt having been insulted as that was Draco's favourite pass time when he was with his friends.  
“Get stuffed, Malfoy,” Alessa saw Harry trying to pull Ron away but he didn't get far, Ron seemed to have sprouted roots and remained in place.  
“Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren’t you, Potter?” Draco sneered, Alessa had a bad feeling about this to say the least. “So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?”  
“You know  _your_ mother, Malfoy?” Harry said and he was shaking. “That expression she’s got, like she’s got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?”  
She looked at Draco and warned him to back off but when Harry turned his back it became apparent that Draco would do no such thing. He raised his wand and before anyone could even think to react the booming voice of Mad-Eye Moody echoed in the square.  
“OH NO YOU DON’T, SONNY!”  
She turned her head to look at Moody but when she looked back Draco was gone. Only he wasn't quite gone exactly. In his place there was a white ferret and by its panicked eyes she could only guess that it was Draco.  
She guessed she should feel sorry for him but she had warned him on several occasions about his bullying and she couldn't help chuckle along with the other students as the white ferret bounced in the air in front of her.  
The arrival of Professor McGonagall put an end to the ferret's flight and Alessa's laughter stopped abruptly when she saw the human Draco wince in pain as he got up. His eyes were darting around and he looked truly panicked when Moody came for him.  
She wondered if he was injured and would have liked to go after him although she was sure he'd barricaded himself in his common room for fear of further punishment. She still had one last class to get to but figured she'd ask him at dinner.

When he didn't show up for dinner however she got really worried and decided to ask Crabbe and Goyle who were both so shocked at being asked nicely that they told her where to find him. She made sure to thank them both properly before she went to find Draco, the two boys staring after her as she swept out of the hall.  
She found him on the sixth floor, in their empty classroom, nursing his left arm which seemed to be hurting.  
“I told you to lay off them.” She said breaking the silence and causing the boy to flinch. “Looks like maybe you should have listened.” She leaned casually against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest.  
He looked up at her, his features hard as if he was trying to be brave or angry, or perhaps even both at the same time.  
“What are you doing here?” He asked and she couldn't help noticed he was gritting his teeth.  
“I didn't see you at dinner so I got worried, asked Crabbe and Goyle where you were. Friends look after each other, right?”  
“Since when are we friends?” He asked, Alessa shrugged and started walking towards him.  
“Well, I consider you my friend so I'll look after you. What you consider me to be is completely up to you.”  
She stopped in front of him with a small smile, her blue eyes falling to his arm.  
“Does it hurt?” She asked and he tensed. She took that as a 'yes'. “Do you care if I take a look?”  
He shrugged tensely and reached out his arm for her to take, she could tell he bit back a hiss of pain when she did.  
“I fell on it after...”  
After McGonagall had transformed him back to human form, she thought but didn't say it aloud.  
His arm was swollen and there was a bruise starting to appear on the inside of his wrist. She didn't know much about medicine but she did know a sprained wrist when she saw one.  
“You should go to Madam Pomfrey with this.”  
Draco looked very reluctant to this.  
“That's not gonna happen.” He muttered. “She'll ask what happened and it's not like I can tell her that, can I?”  
He felt humiliated, she realised quickly. And he was a stubborn git when he wanted to be, if he didn't want to go to the hospital wing there was no way to make him.  
“Well, do you know how to fix it?”  
“No.” Draco shook his head. “Do you?”  
Her speciality may have been charms but Vera, who was surprisingly apt at healing spells, had taught her the most basic ones.  
“Yeah. Mind if I try?”  
He did his best to look indifferent but seemed more nervous than he let on when she got her wand out.  
“Episkey.” She said clearly, pointing the tip of the wand to his wrist and feeling elated when his bruise started to fade. “How's that?” She asked as she put her wand away, watching him stretch his wrist carefully.  
“I think it's healed if a bit stiff.”  
“I'm glad.” She smiled at him before thinking of something. “Mind if I try something the muggles use to make the pain go away?”  
This made him look very suspicious but she just laughed, something about her reaction seemed to make him relax a little.  
“I promise it won't kill or maim you.”  
It took a few moments before he nodded and it was with a gentle smile Alessa took a hold of his wrist, leaning down to blow on it before placing a small kiss where the bruise had been.  
“There, now you're all healed up.” She grinned at him and headed out of the classroom. She still had finish the essay in History of Magic.

She didn't even look back to see Draco's face take on a pink hue.

  
  


“So how are you feeling about the first task?” Alessa asked Cedric the following morning as they made their way from the Great Hall after a late breakfast. “You haven't really talked about it.” She remarked and realized he was looking a little faint.  
“Um...” He hesitated, growing more pale by the minute.  
“Do you know what it is?”  
By the look of fear on his face he most definitely knew.  
“Do you want to tell me?” She asked as they reached the barrel-entrance and proceeded inside.  
The Hufflepuff common room was empty as they walked in. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and the few who'd stayed behind were sleeping in.  
“It's not that I don't want to tell you, Lessa.” Cedric said as he sat down on a plush couch, Alessa sitting down next to him.”I just don't think I'm allowed to tell you.”  
He looked at her with a guilty air about him, his grey eyes reminding her a bit of a Golden Retriever.  
“It's all right.” Alessa shrugged, leaning back as she put her legs up across his lap.  
She did feel a little sting of rejection but decided that it wasn't any of her business if he couldn't share.  
“Fine!” Cedric looked around to make sure no one else was around before leaning forward as far as he could manage with her legs still on his lap and whispered“Dragons.”  
Alessa doubted she could have been more shocked.  
“Dragons?” She hissed, making sure to keep her voice low even though they were seemingly alone. “But that's insane, how do they expect you to battle dragons?”  
“I don't know.” Cedric admitted and he looked queasy.  
Alessa understood him, fear had spread through her body at the mere mention of the creatures and she wouldn't even have to go anywhere near them.  
“You'd better not get eaten by a dragon, Cedric Diggory.” She winked at him, actually breaking him out of his worry with a laugh.  
“Well, if I do I'll just come back and haunt you forever.” He dug his fingers into her side making her double over in laughter.  
“Yeah, cause having you around for the rest of my life would just be horrible, wouldn't it?” She said sarcastically once he'd stopped tickling her and she was all but sitting on his lap, having tried to escape but only ended up closer to him.  
“Miss me, would you?” He grinned, his arms snaking around her waist to pull her closer.  
“Of course I would.” She said seriously even if a smile was playing at the corner of her mouth. “You'd have to be You-know-who to not miss you.”  
“Aww.” Cedric hugged her closer, still grinning. “If I didn't know any better I'd say you have a little crush on me, Lessa.”  
“Well...” Alessa said, looking at him as though scrutinizing him. “You would make for good arm candy at the Ball.”  
This made Cedric laugh and she found herself thoroughly enjoying the sound. It relaxed her.  
“So you're going then?”  
“Yeah, I was planning on it. Do you want to go with me?”

Cedric stilled and Alessa could tell she'd made him uncomfortable. His arms didn't slip from her waist however so she stayed on his lap, watching his handsome face twist up in guilt once again.  
“Sorry.” He said, barely managing to look her in the eye. “But I was thinking of asking Cho Chang.”  
“Oh.” Alessa said, racking her brain to come up with a face to go with the name. “She's a Ravenclaw, right?”  
Cedric blushed.  
“Yeah.”  
“You like her, don't you?” Alessa grinned, finding the prospect of Cedric Diggory being in love most charming and amusing.  
“Yeah, I uh, I guess.” He stuttered and he looked so far from the self-assured Cedric she was so used to seeing.  
“That right there, my friend, is a 'yes'.” She poked his side making him squirm,a big grin spreading across his face as he did.  
“Yeah?”  
“Yeah!” She laughed. “So when are you asking her?”  
“I was thinking tomorrow night, we have astronomy together. To tell you the truth I'm actually kind of nervous about asking her.”  
“Of course you are.” Alessa laughed and eased off his lap, having had to strain her neck to look at him properly it was starting to hurt. “You like her. It'd be strange if you weren't nervous.”  
Cedric just looked at her, his eyes wide.  
“Since when are you an expert on feelings and crushes?” He asked, only half teasing.  
“I've observed a lot of them.” She said happily, making a show of her enthusiasm for the act of people-watching and was pleased when Cedric, once again, smiled.  
“You're weird.”  
  
  


  
“You're nuts.” Alessa hugged Cedric hard. She'd followed Hermione into the champion's tent but unlike the Gryffindor she had stormed right in and straight into her friend's arms.  
“I know, right?” He laughed but he sounded more panicked than amused. “But at least I'll be remembered.”  
She punched his arm, not rewarding him with a verbal answer. She was too nervous to think of one but her nervousness for her friend's safety quickly turned into something else when a camera flash went off and no other than Rita Skeeter walked into the tent.  
“Young love!” The foul woman approached Harry and Hermione who had broken their embrace. “How stirring.”  
Alessa had never personally met Rita Skeeter but she'd heard plenty about her at home. She'd heard her mother's angry rants about how the awful woman took everything you said and spun it around to suit her own needs. She'd heard her father's comments about how most of the Daily Prophet had no idea how she got hold of her information and the numerous complaints they'd had about her lies and disregard for people's privacy.

Alessa wasn't one to jump to conclusions about people, she believed that there were two sides to each coin but after the articles she'd written this school year about her friends she was more willing to disregard her principles.  
“You have no business here.” Viktor Krum spoke up and Alessa couldn't remember if she'd ever heard his voice before. “This tent is for champions. And friends.” He added as his eyes fell on Hermione and Alessa.  
“Well well, who's this?” Rita had followed his gaze and decided to approach the blonde Hufflepuff-girl she hadn't met before.  
“Alessa Marky.” Alessa said through a tight smile, enjoying the fleeting look if annoyance on Rita's face.  
“Ah, no doubt Christopher's daughter.” She reached out a manicured hand which Alessa took and shook firmly. “Yes, well your father has told me all about you of course.” The smile on her face looked so fake it was almost funny.  
“No, he hasn't.” Alessa said curtly. “There is no way he'd talk about his family to someone who can't keep her nose out of honest people's businesses.”  
She could feel Cedric shaking beside her, no doubt trying to stifle a laugh and Rita looked like she had sucked a lemon.  
“And here I thought you had taken after your father.”  
She obviously meant it as an insult but it made Alessa smile widely.  
“Oh, I do. Which is why your hand isn't broken right now. Now, as Mr. Krum so eloquently put it; You have no business here.”  
She sent a wink to Krum when Rita turned her back to her and he actually spared her a small smile.

No doubt there would be some less than savoury comment about her in Rita's next article after this but she didn't care. She was already considered as loony as Luna and the few people who's opinions she cared about knew better than to believe anything Rita Skeeter wrote.  
She was also fairly certain that her father would fight tooth over nail to stop any slandering article about his only child from being published. Sure enough a couple of days later she'd received a letter from him where he wondered what she'd done to anger the woman, asked her to please not do it again and ended the letter by letting her know her parents were proud of having stood up for her friends.

  
  


“My brain hurts!” Draco groaned, throwing his quill down before slumping over his homework, his face buried in parchments covered in his neat handwriting detailing the many uses of bezoars. He was more than half-way through so Alessa allowed him a break.  
He was working harder than before, she'd noted happily.  
After his run-in with Moody and Alessa had healed his wrist he had slowly but surely dropped his cold façade more and more around her. She wouldn't say he was changing but the time he spent with her seemed to have allowed him to open up a bit more, to find out what kind of man he wanted to be.  
Their study sessions had moved locations over the term, some days they could be seen studying together in the Great Hall, other days in the library and one time even in the Slytherin common room to the surprise of many of Draco's fellow Slytherins. Apparently his blooming friendship with her seemed to turn a few heads. There were even some who outright disapproved but after Pansy Parkinson had tried to physically remove her and received a less-than-subtle threat from Draco no Slytherin criticised their friendship aloud again.

Once 10 minutes had passed Alessa wondered if Draco had actually fallen asleep and marked her place before abandoning her book on summoning charms. He had moved sometime since he'd laid his head down, his face now turned to her and it was obvious he was sleeping.  
Thinking she'd earned herself a break as well, she was almost done with the assigned chapter, she too laid her head down taking the opportunity to watch him closely.  
His hair, usually swept back and slick, seemed to be having a rebellious day and was laying a little all over the place, his bangs just long enough to brush his eyelashes. She couldn't help but notice just how peaceful he looked, nothing to bother him or make him question his life.  
He looked content and it was a good look for him.  
“What are you doing?” His voice broke her out of her renewed focus on his hair.  
“Observing you.” She grinned, still wondering if his hair was softer than it looked.  
“You're weird.” He yawned before sitting up straight again.  
“People have been known to say that.” She winked at him, her head still remaining resting on her book. “Quite often actually.” She added as an afterthought.  
“Not surprising.” Draco said but Alessa was pleased to see a smile on his face. “So are you excited about the ball? I hear girls are supposed to like that sort of thing.”  
“Yeah, I guess.” She said electing not to point out that she knew several boys who were more excited than the girls, it's not like it really mattered at the moment. “I really like my dress so I'm looking forward to that for sure.”  
“Hm.” He nodded seemingly attempting to look interested even though he was the one who'd brought up the subject.  
“What about Pansy? I take it she's thrilled to be going with you.”  
“She said that?”  
“Well... No, I just assumed since you two are together-”  
“We're not together.” Draco said curtly, picking at his quill. “Pansy might think we are but not as far as I'm concerned.”  
“Oh.” Alessa was surprised by this information, everything she'd witnessed pointed towards a relationship but then again she had been wrong before. “I see.”  
“If you wanted me to go with you you could have just asked, you know.” A cocky smirk graced his lips and Alessa chuckled.  
“So do you want to go with me?”  
Her reply seemed to take him aback, having probably expected her to blush and sputter something unintelligible but as previously established; she was a bit weird.  
“Um... Sure.”  
“Wonderful. Why don't we meet up in the Entrance Hall on Christmas Day and we can walk to the Great Hall together?  
”Okay, then it's settled.” He said making an effort of going back to his essay but Alessa could see him glancing up at her every so often with a poorly-hidden grin on his face.

  
  


Alessa, Hannah and the other girls in their dormitory spent a good deal of Christmas Day getting ready for the ball. There was make-up crowding almost every night stand, magically enhanced blow-dryers, straighteners and curling irons were laying on the floor when not being used and beauty spells were being cast all over the place.  
Alessa was more than happy in her dress, a pale blue, flowy creation, and her blonde hair curled with her bangs pinned back. She may have cast a beauty spell herself but it was mostly because she wasn't very good with make-up, she's never felt the need to practice until now.  
As agreed she met up with Draco in the Entrance Hall and she didn't miss the appreciative look he sent her way as he walked up to her. He was certainly very handsome himself, his dress robes fitted to perfection and his hair, although smoother and shinier than usual, hadn't been slicked back. Alessa found this even more attractive than anything else about him.

On their way into the Great Hall she could see Neville and she waved at him, glad to see him smiling back at her.  
She'd checked with Neville a while back if he was going alone but was glad to hear that he was taking Ginny Weasley, she didn't know her all that well but if she was anything like the twins Alessa was sure the two would have a fun night.  
She didn't know if these halls had ever been this beautiful and as the snow fell gently from the ceiling she caught Draco looking at her rather than the decorations and smiled brightly back at him.

When the champions had made their way into the Hall and were out on the dance floor Draco had taken her hand and asked her to dance.  
He was very good dancer, not as good as her father but then again he hadn't had 30 years of experience so she didn't hold it against him and whirled across the dance floor with him for most of the night.

Once in a while most girls were asked to dance by someone other than their dates. Alessa was even asked by a Durmstrang-boy with whom she danced while Dumbledore had engaged Draco in a conversation about sherbet lemons. Needless to say Draco didn't too interested but was too polite to say anything.  
That she was asked to dance by someone other than Draco was a happy surprise for Alessa as she had too weird a reputation with the Hogwarts crowd. The only Hogwarts students who came near her during the night were Fred and George, both of them taking her on a wild spin while their dates were in the bathroom and Draco was still stuck in a conversation that now concerned acid pops.

By 11 o'clock a big part of the crowd had exited the halls, the food, drink and dancing having exhausted most.  
Alessa and Draco had remained though, the latter getting them drinks which gave Alessa a chance to catch her breath. Every muscle in her body was tired and she was sure she'd hardly be able to get out of bed in the morning but she was happy.  
Ever since she could remember her father had danced with her, even before she could walk on her own he had stood her on his feet and danced throughout the house with her.  
She loved dancing, it made her heart ache with how happy she was.  
Deep in her childhood memories and euphoria she didn't notice Draco was back with their drinks.

  
  


“It was a good night.” Alessa grinned as she and Draco walked towards the Entrance Hall almost an hour later. Her arm was laced through his and he laughed that pure, unguarded laugh that made her heart fly.  
“Just too bad you didn't get snogged.” He winked as he nodded to a pair of Ravenclaws behind one of the suits of armour.  
“Nah, I'm used to it by now.” She answered.  
“Don't tell me you've never been snogged before?” He teased, nudging her.  
“'Snogged'? I've never even been kissed, people aren't exactly lining up for their chance. Me being weird and all that.” She shrugged matter-of-factly. Sure it got to her sometimes but what was the rush? It wasn't like the world was going to end because a girl hadn't been kissed at the age of 15.

Draco didn't reply to this but a look similar to guilt settled across his previously carefree features, she wasn't sure if she liked the change.  
“You know I don't mean anything bad by it, right?” He asked, his voice taking on a far too serious note. “Calling you names.”  
“Oh, I know.” She turned to him with a smile, it seemed to be stuck on her face since the dancing. “I don't really care what people call me any more.”  
“Well, this is me.” She announced as they reached the point where the paths to their common rooms split up. “Thank you for going with me. I had a great time!” She said but Draco looked like he was deep in thought about something.  
“What?” Alessa asked intrigued, she herself was far too tired to do any actual deep thinking.  
“Do you want to?” He asked, a determined look on his face.  
“Do I want to what?” She replied, not at all following his train of thought.  
Draco gave her an impatient look that all but told her to pay more attention.  
“Do you want to be kissed?”  
“Um...” Alessa didn't really know what to say to that so she just blurted out the first thing that came into her head. “Are you offering?”  
“Guess so.” Draco shrugged as if his question had been completely normal. “It seems a shame to end the night without one, don't you think?”  
Now that she strained her brain to think about it it did seem a shame.  
“Okay then. Hit me with your fireworks!” She grinned making Draco take a step closer.  
“Just so you know this doesn't mean I like you or anything.” He said and Alessa nodded.  
“I know.” She said simply and a moment later she could feel his lips on hers.

It was no fireworks but it felt nice.  
And when she went to bed that night she couldn't help but feel the subtle taste of apples still lingering on her tongue.

  
  


Cedric was dead.  
She heard the words being echoed in the crowd behind her. She knew them but she didn't understand. Cedric wasn't dead. Any minute now he'd send up red sparks from somewhere in the maze and all would be all right again.  
She could feel her chest tighten as she stared at the sky. Any minute now. Any minute.  
Mr. Diggory's screams echoed through the night and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't block him out. As the crowd parted to make way for the teachers she looked down and through the tears filling her eyes she could see him. He was pale as the lake on a winter's morning and he looked cold. Cedric was never cold.  
The tears cascaded down her face and she felt her legs go out from under her. She clutched chest when she reached the ground, it hurt. She clawed at it through the fabric of her shirt. She just needed it to stop.  
She was sobbing now and it took everything she had in her not to scream her lungs out.  
_“You'd better not get eaten by a dragon, Cedric Diggory.”_   
The words ran through her head and she begged the voices in her head to stop.  
_“Well, if I do I'll just come back and haunt you forever.”_

He couldn't be dead.  
He just couldn't be.  
He was not allowed to be dead. She wouldn't let him.

 She could feel a hand on her shoulder but she didn't look up, just kept clawing at her chest trying to breathe through the pain again.  
She didn't know how or when but she somehow made it up to the castle. As she was led into the common room she couldn't help but hope that Cedric would be curled up in an armchair, reading a book. That he would look up and smile at her. That he would hold her and tell him he would be okay.  
But all she saw where people crying. No Cedric as far as the eye could see.  
Professor Sprout joined them and she was crying when she started speaking but Alessa didn't stay.  
She didn't want to hear it.  
She walked into her dorm, laid down on her bed, pulled the curtains closed around her and cried herself to sleep.  
Mr. Diggory's screams for his son kept echoing through in her head.  
They would never leave her. Not even 'til her dying day.

The memorial feast for Cedric was beautiful but Alessa couldn't stop crying.  
Draco had taken the seat next to her but she didn't have it in her to come up with some sort of theory as to why. She barely even knew he was sitting next to her until he grasped her shaking hand and squeezed it.  
She could do nothing except stare straight ahead with the tears running down her face, she felt empty of everything.  
Except her grief.  
That was eating her up from the inside.

 

When she got on the train home she had finally stopped crying. Not because she had chosen to, simply because there was no tears left in her.  
She was sitting alone, staring out the window at the sunny, rolling hills but she found she could not appreciate the beauty. She didn't want to see it, didn't want to feel any more.

She heard the door to her compartment open but didn't have the energy to tell the person to go away. She felt him sit down next to her, she could smell the scent of apples as he put his arm around her. Somewhere along the way her head slumped against his shoulder, she'd fallen asleep.  
Draco didn't wake her until they arrived at King's Cross.

 

 


End file.
